Customer Reviews

Doudou Ndiaye Rose

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No other drumming quite sounds like that of Doudou N'Diaye Rose. Large drum ensembles (50 drummers on this album) play together with a level of complexity and subtlety usually associated more with orchestral works than with drum music. Doudou hails from Senegal and is esteemed there as not only a master drummer but also as a living repository of the musical traditions of that nation. He is conductor of his ensemble as much as featured drummer, and a chance to see him play, even on video, should not be missed. He has been heard on tracks of some albums by Peter Gabriel- who in turn is the force behind the RealWorld label that recorded him. 'Djabote' features 12 engaging and unique compositions. There are singers involved as well, but the singing is enjoyable and perhaps used more judiciously and less intrusively (to Western ears) than is true of many other ostensibly "drum" recordings. If you can keep still while listening to this album, better check your pulse. ;-{) Whether you are already a fan of African drumming or are checking it out for the first time, it would be hard to do better than 'Djabote'.

Anyone who still doubts the relevancy of African music, or thinks that Western music is somehow superior, should be made to watch Doudou Ndiaye Rose in action. While I have not had that pleasure, SBS TV in Australia was kind enough to broadcast a program about the making of this CD on television recently. Fascinating stuff indeed. There was Rose conducting his compositions with a team of Western recording personnel looking on in awe. Not only because of the intricate and complex rhythms of the compositions, but also because of the way in which Rose conducted the orchestra of 50 Muslim drummers and 80 Catholic singers on the Island of Goree in Senegal - much like the way in which a conducter of a Western symphony would conduct his orchestra in a great hall. All these drummers were really one, with a perfect mastery of their art and what seemed like an amazing joy for living. Doudou Ndiaye Rose is a master musician and arguably the best rhythmatist in the world. It is fortunate that he has passed his knowledge on to his children, especially since so much of the traditional musics of the world are being lost. Ali Ndiaye Rose (one of Doudou's sons) is a guest lecturer at the Royal School of Music in The Hague, The Netherlands and since 1989 has worked and performed with the Percussion Group The Hague. (They recorded together on the Dutch CD "Skin Hits").

The CD "Djabote" is very well recorded and belongs in the collection of any serious African music listener.

If you are at all interested in percussion or african drums you can not go wrong buying this CD. It is by far the best drum CD out there.

Doudou N'diaye Rose is THE MASTER DRUMMER of west-African djembe and all hand drum music. If you are learning how to play the Djembe drum or are open-minded about music, YOU WILL LOVE these African beats and the singing and many other instruments used in this recording.

I've heard some drumming in my time. I've attended Japanese taiko drum concerts, hung out at Venice Beach drum jams, and sat on the banks of the Yamuna listening to traditional dhol and dholki performances. None of these prepared me for what I heard on this CD of amazing Senegalese drumming.

Sidati Aidara is a track that will change your life.